Broncos vs. Bears Live Stream: Watch Online without Cable

Denver and Chicago meet up in an NFL Preseason game. Watch Denver's defense look to pick up where it left off against a new-look Chicago Bears team.

We Recommend: Live in Chicago; Replay on NFL Network Nationwide (out-of-market) & Replay

Peyton Manning retired, but the Denver Broncos defense is looking to show the Chicago Bears why they were Super Bowl champions last year. We’re here to help you watch the Broncos vs. Bears live stream, which kicks off at 8 p.m. EST Thursday, Aug. 11.

It’s good news for cord-cutters: You can watch this game and all of the other preseason games without having a cable TV subscription. Here’s how to legally enjoy the Broncos vs. Bears live stream.

Broncos vs. Bears Live Stream, On Demand with NFL Game Pass

In an effort to satisfy its fans looking to watch games online, the NFL revamped its streaming options in the U.S. by discontinuing its Game Rewind streaming service and replacing it with NFL Game Pass.

The new streaming service provides access to all 256 regular season NFL games on demand and also offers an NFL preseason streaming option to watch the games live online. Game Pass streams all out-of-market preseason games live, excluding games televised in your local market or on national television. So, if you’re a Broncos fan in Denver, you can’t stream the game live on Game Pass, but one of the many other options listed below might be able to help you out. Those games not included on the Game Pass NFL preseason live stream, however, will be made available on demand shortly after the game. So, if you can turn off the score notifications on your smartphone, you can still enjoy the excitement of this first preseason game.

Game Pass is $99 for the season, but there is a 7-day free trial now by clicking here. An added bonus with the subscription is that every NFL game since 2009 is available to stream on-demand.

Broncos vs. Bears Live Stream on Sling TV

Sling TV — which continues to offer a free, 7-day trial offer — is another option for watching some of the nationally-broadcast NFL preseason games online. Some of the bigger national games, like the Colts-Packers matchup on ESPN, is available without any issues on Sling.

Sling TV, a live streaming service from Dish Network (review here), allows subscribers to watch ESPN and ESPN2 live using their internet connection. The service is just $20 a month with no contract, and it includes over 25 other popular channels like AMC, TBS, TNT, HGTV, CNN, and more. You can watch Sling TV on your TV (using a streaming player like the Roku or Apple TV), smart TV, phone, tablet, or computer.

But what about games on local broadcasts? Recent updates with Sling allow access to some live broadcasts in select markets, including Chicago, but not Denver. So, because WFLD, Chicago’s Fox affiliate, is broadcasting this preseason game, it will be available on Sling TV in this market. Additionally, Sling TV carries an NFL Network live stream, and this popular football channel will be airing a replay of the game August 11 at 1 am ET for everyone to see.

If you’ve never subscribed to Sling before, there is a special offer that might be touchdown of a deal for NFL fans. If you sign up for three months of service, you can get a free Roku 2 for your TV. This is valuable because ESPN has Monday Night Football for another season, meaning those games will be available on Sling, allowing you stream it at a low monthly price.

Watch Broncos-Bears with an OTA antenna

When it comes to the NFL, contracts wit the major broadcast networks still reign supreme. If you want to follow your favorite, hometown team (and still live in that home market, of course), you can’t go wrong with an old-fashioned, but extremely effective, over-the-air antenna.

For the Broncos-Bears matchup, the NBC affiliates KUSA Denver and Fox affiliate WFLD Chicago will be broadcasting the game for free, over-the-air. And in crystal-clear high definition.

You can check out our guide to the best antennas available to find other options. It’s also useful to use a DVR to record games to watch later – read all about DVRs in our detailed guide.

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Andrew Dodson is a journalist from Michigan who writes for MLive.com, the state's top online news source. He previously worked as the technology editor for TVNewsCheck.com, a trade publication that covers the broadcasting industry, where he frequently wrote about cord cutting and taking advantage of over-the-air television. He's married to his wife Erin and is a proud Mini Cooper owner.